Multiple Guru Teghbahadar’s Martyrdom Anniversaries Reveal Institutional Fault Lines

Separate functions were organized by the Panjab government, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), to mark the 350^th martyrdom anniversary of the ninth Sikh Sovereign Guru Teghbahadar. There seemed to be little coordination between the SGPC and DSGMC. Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne, AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami did not attend the function in Sri Anandpur Sahib organized by the Panjab government or in Delhi, where Guru Teghbahadar was executed. DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka said they invited the AT Jathedar and SGPC chief. He said, ‘Our representatives personally extended the invitation to the Jathedar, and then I also pursued it.’ SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said DSGMC representatives were telling half-truths to cover their tracks. While Indian President Droupadi Murmu attended the concluding ceremony at Red Fort, Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not come to Sri Anandpur Sahib, Panjab. Meanwhile, on 25 Nov, Panjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Indian Administrative Service officer Jagmohan Singh Raju accused the Panjab government of playing with the sentiments of the people on the issue of 'holy city' status for Amritsar by 'diluting' the historic protections granted to the city under the 1956 Rules which already ban liquor in the walled city. At Sri Anandpur Sahib, residents of the city did not even benefit from the preparations for the Panjab government event. There are multiple reports that the entire material and labor for the tent city to host the symbolic Legislative Assembly was outsourced to companies in Delhi and other regions. The function included a debate in a mock Assembly by school children which seemed ironic because Panjab has not conducted student body elections in the state since 1985. Concurrently, while claiming to follow Guru Teghbahadar’s legacy, the Panjab government has rejected Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh’s parole plea to attend the winter session of Parliament. The government claimed, 'his single speech can set the rivers of Panjab afire'. Amritpal has been detained under the National Security Act in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail since April 2023 (earlier coverage).